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"Irfan?...NO!" A Contentious Suggestion for the Bleeping Downloads section

I get the sense that this Bleeping community has a penchant for security and system wares (stuff that really lies at the heart of making a machine work properly), and I suppose this goes hand-in-hand with the site's name and concept

With this we see an arsenal of system utilities and anti-mals in the downloads section. The photos-images section, by contrast (NPI), looks a little sparse with only one application listed. So, I just wanted to throw a few of my favorite freebies out there, along with a question-suggestion that is likely to raise some eyebrows.

I'm sure everyone here knows about Gimp. And then there is Blender which moves outside the photo realm and into 3D objects. But these programs are widely known and have their own securely hosted download sites. (No need to host them here -- especially when they are updated so frequently.)

But what I am actually wondering about is the possibility of BleepingComputer hosting a clean download of an old favorite called Irfanview.

When I say 'clean download', I am refering to the software's notoriety for coming bundled with bADwarez of all description. (Notice that I didn't even link the Irfanview page? This omission was to protect the careless user who might go and download something that could harm his machine. #ModBrowniePoints)

And please, let's not turn this into a conversation that belongs in the malware forum. (We just can't escape that topic, can we?)

I only suggest a look at Irfanview because it is a flexible and compact image editor, ignoring for a moment that it has a bad name because of bad people who have used its deserved popularity for bad purposes.

Any personal thoughts/experience using Irfanview (aside from malware complaints)? Or do any of you folks feel that there is a viable alternative in the same weight class? i.e., small footprint, low system resource usage -- Gimp is great and all, but it is a monster of a program compared to Irfanview.

If you haven't used Irfanview, it might be described as being reminiscent of an early version of Photoshop Elements (lean yet reasonably well-featured) or perhaps MS Paint (*if* Paint didn't... yeah...)

But yeah, at this point, I won't even download a copy of Irfanview, and I suggest you not attempt to either. (This is precisely the reason I am suggesting its inclusion as a clean download on BleepingComputer... assuming there are any clean .exe files still in existence. LoL)

Thanks, and I hope to have made the point that it has been my intention to invite a discussion on graphics/photo-editing software and not a panel on malware. Please.

Also, I am new here and don't even know who manages the Bleeping downloads section, or if I even have any business making content suggestions. If I have presumed too boldly in this matter, I apologize.

Edited by computerxpds, 08 April 2015 - 07:55 AM.Moved from Graphics Design and Photo Editing to more appropriate forum

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I've used Irfanview off and on over many years & have never once experienced any issues regarding unwanted bundled software or other. Googling for issues regarding such turned up nothing. I would certainly have no qualms about re-installing it. I would suggest one downloads it via the official website here: http://www.irfanview.com/ Additionally if BleepingComputer provides or were to provide a download for it, be assured it would be 100% safe.

Q: Does IrfanView contain Spyware or Viruses, etc.?A: NO. If your anti virus program reports a virus or spyware in IrfanView downloaded from the official homepages, you should either update the anti virus program or use a better one.

Would you care to post sources for your concern as to the "software's notoriety for coming bundled with bADwarez of all description."

I never make the same mistake twice....I always make it 5 or 6 times just to be sure!

I created what might be considered a sister thread about what would actually be involved with purging a common install (.exe) file -- if such a thing were even possible. If you feel more compelled towards the malware aspect of the conversation, this might be the place to go and vent it.

Q: Does IrfanView contain Spyware or Viruses, etc.?A: NO. If your anti virus program reports a virus or spyware in IrfanView downloaded from the official homepages, you should either update the anti virus program or use a better one.

Would you care to post sources for your concern as to the "software's notoriety for coming bundled with bADwarez of all description."

I can pull together a small handful of "malware" + "irfanview" searches that anyone can find on Google if it please ye.

BUT, I can tell you that I have received browser warnings (like actual *Chrome/Windows-based warnings*, i.e. not even my anti-malware software) by just navigating to two of the first four download sites listed on Irfanview.com, including CNET and Fileforum (the latter a supposed Irfanview EDITOR'S PICK).

I have, on prior occasions, received malwared files from CNET (FruityLoops Pro Trial pack -- didn't bother to scan -- my stupid fault -- gave me AVG Toolbar -- ooh did that stink) and then TechSpot (where I downloaded Aomei Partition Assistant -- scanned and it was cleared by both Malwarebytes Premium and Norton Internet Security[!!] upon entry -- but still gave me the Taplika browser hijacker virus which took two weeks and the installation of some extremely shady renegade anti-malwares such as Lotus' SpyHunter4 [basically a registered criminal app]to even get rid of!)

I consider a good deal of these problems to be common knowledge and I know more than one person who keeps a pawn/download-Machine on his/her network for the purpose of cautiously downloading new wares from these "popular third party websites" and testing them for infections. More than one of these friends has knowingly downloaded a not-that-bad/cureable mal onto his/her primary machine, with the shaky confidence that he/she could (hopefully) remove it with a premium-legit anti-virus application.

Somtimes it works, sometimes not.

This insanity needs to stop. And if some legit community domains (such as Bleeping) pull together and provide clean download alternatives for popular freewares, "we" could run CNET out of traffic-business and hugely increase "our" (if I dare include myself as a community member) traffic to the point that it might actually offer a significant payoff to the powers of good. ZERO ADWARE INVOLVED. (But the adfvckrz would probably attack Bleeping out of spite at that point -- which is disgusting, but probably accurate.)

Just a thought...

However, I stated that I really didn't want for this conversation to be about malware, so please don't call me out for citations after the message that has already been conveyed.

Are .PSD files just too complex and huge for other wares to untangle? I honestly don't even know off-hand what Gimp's range of file associations are.

Just assumed that proprietary file formats were off-limits, in most cases. I remember Irfanview's associations seemed pretty broad, at least for the basic image stuff... but that was several years ago.

As a typography-graphics person myself, I am most curious about wares that can move between image and vector format easily. I am assuming Gimp is the lightest way to do this type of vector/graphix toggling, at this point. (Irfanview doesn't do vector format...right?)

But it would really be nice if there were a less bulky way to do image/vector edits without having to convert files or switch wares (i.e. Photoshop SmartObjects -- though these still kind of sukc to use).

Just to be clear on where I stand, I am a creative cloud paying customer for nearly two years running, and I stand by both Photoshop and Illustrator as primary composition tools. But there are some quick jobs for which I would rather not even mess with the hassle of opening these processor-hungry Adobe wares. (even with the fastest cpu I've ever owned)

I guess I am wondering: What is the next step in freeware for advanced visual-media editing? And will there be options for someone like me who is willing to pay for Adobe Creative Crowd but doesn't always care to use use their resource-greedy wares?